European Commission meets worried scientists
Perpignan, France - 12 February 2008 – Delegates representing two NGOs
concerned with public health and the environment met today with Franco
Frattini, Vice-President of the European Commission and responsible for
Justice, Freedom and Security.
Representatives of the scientific committees of Antidote Europe
(France)
and Equivita (Italy) brought the following worrying trends to the
attention of Mr Frattini:
1. Disturbing European data: 3,2 million new cases of cancer in 2006,
an
increase of 10% compared with 2004; 1,6 million cancer deaths annually
; 8
million people affected with Alzheimer’s, with 2,5 million new cases
each
year ; 15% of under-18s suffer from neurological problems.
2. The lack of a clear strategy to try to deal with these diseases
through
prevention and the questionable outcome of the EU chemicals program
(REACH) in its current form. The REACH initiative (Registration,
Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), which entered
into force on 1st June 2007, whose aim is to assess the toxic risk of
the
many thousands of chemicals in our environment, cannot be expected to
achieve this result unless it relies on modern scientific methods –
rather
than continuing to rely on animal experiments - as is currently the
case.
3. The under-utilisation of modern scientific methods to replace animal
experiments. For example, the powerful science of toxicogenomics, which
is
barely mentioned in the REACH legislation, and yet strongly encouraged
in
the US by the prestigious National Research Council. In this respect,
Antidote Europe has recently lodged a complaint with the EU ombudsman
for
not putting these modern tools to work sooner
(http://www.antidote-europe.org/plainte_gb.htm).
For more information: http://www.antidote-europe.org, http://www.equivita.it
Media Contacts;
Antidote Europe : Claude Reiss (33 (0)6 86 30 66 39) ; André Ménache
(44
7906 446 889).
Equivita : Fabrizia Pratesi (39.06.3220720 or 39.335.8444949).